Epic will start offering devs 100% of revenue for Epic Games Store exclusivity
Six months of PC exclusivity will net devs of any size every penny.
Epic is taking the fight to Steam by rolling out a new revenue sharing model in the form of Epic First Run, an initiative that will offer developers up to 100% of revenue for six months if their PC game remains exclusive to the Epic Games Store.
Epic First Run will allow third-party devs of any size to opt in to making their PC game exclusive to the Epic Games Store for its first six months, in return for 100% of net revenue from sales to users.
Once that six months is up, the revenue share will revert to Epic’s usual split, with 88% of revenue going to the devs and 12% pocketed by Epic.
To be eligible for the First Run programme, devs can’t have previously released their game through another PC storefront - such as Steam - or via a subscription service on PC, which seems to be Epic’s way of targeting the likes of Xbox Game Pass.
With the official wording specifying PC only, it won’t stop devs from releasing at the same time on console. Epic also notes that devs are free to sell games directly via their own stores or launchers during their exclusivity period on the Epic Games Store, with marketplaces such as Humble and Green Man Gaming permitted as long as they offer the game using Epic’s keyless redemption service.
First Run will be open to developers of any size, with devs who already have an exclusivity deal inked with Epic (such as Remedy, who will launch Alan Wake 2 exclusively on Epic in October) excluded from taking advantage of the offer.
The first games to release using Epic First Run will appear from October 16th, with included games set to appear with a new badge and in a dedicated collection of First Run releases on the store.